Route to my passion

Hey there, Im Madanavilosen A/L Subramaniam. Currently Im studying for Diploma in Broadcasting in IACT College. I live in Bandar Parklands situated in Klang with my family. As I grew up as a movie lover, I’m interest into making a film goes deeper as much deep as oceans. The movies I watched draw attention here and some of the movies tend to encourage by bringing into different level to become an actor. Whenever I watched a film first I started to imitate the actors in front of my washroom’s mirror. Slowly, it becomes as an attitude. Then whenever I’m not satisfy with other’s acting, I started act the same scenario with my own style which makes me spend in front of my washroom mirror more 30 minutes. Sometimes, I would like to be alone to think about a scenario which will be created by me. That’s makes me to be a music lover, cause each music will bring a different level of mood to become a creator of story universe. Whenever I’m out of imagination, I will watch some news or read some newspaper to adapt real life incident. Then slowly, my acting addiction become way more higher which makes other to think that I have multiple personality disorder, which actually I’m acting in public without my own realisation. My stories made me live as the character, and I found it very hard to leave the character there is where it leads me to the people’s opinion which multiple disorder. There is made a serious discussion with my family about my acting career. First, they thought I was just joking, then they realise that I’m serious about it. My parents advised me about education is very important in life because it's give a bring future and I would say that film shows how to live a life which comes at first place on the top before education and bright future.

This actually made me lose the interest in education, I was so desperate to hear the words, which is Camera Rolling, Action. So my dad made me study by promising to bring my watch film if I got A’s in my subjects. That actually works and I have no heart to leave cinema. There is where I got another attitude, that whenever I visit a shopping mall, I must visit the cinema, at least I want to be there just a min it’s enough for me. After PMR, I went to international school to come out from the environment which named me as a multiple disorder. In international school, they actually encourage my passion. Whenever they have a school drama, I will join & kept failing because it’s a stage drama which we need to express more. So I was searching for an opportunity for acting. So I make use of Facebook. Which I narrate my one line story to other directors. Some will reply and some don’t. There is one short film maker called to be as a crew for his short film. But actually I just get bullied, by arranging shoes, buying food for them and so on. Then I realised that I need another talent to bring out my acting talent. There is where I started concentrate on mimicry and dance. At 17 years old, I got an opportunity to perform in front of family members which they wasn’t interest to hear due to my age and I use to talk a lot. I said ‘Hey guys’ and nobody cares, it actually brings me into tears. Thought want to get down from stage but I saw there is one lady who was so excited to watch my performance which is my mother. I just perform for her by looking at her only. After the whole performance ends, the whole crowd clapped for my performance. There is where I realised that believing myself more important than that & there is always an audience for me which is my mum.

At 18 years I went to a workshop which was held by director SD Puvanendran sir. There is where I clearly understand about cinema. At the same time, I started my career as an Emcee to find some contact with film industry people while end of my Diploma in Logistic. After that course, I join another ALC college for Certification in Business Studies. There is where I was highlighted for my Emcee skills and Mimicry. Whole college accepts that I’m a performer. After few months, I met a short film director with my friend, I spend most of my time with them due to film-making even though some time I have to. There is where I acted a short film and I was so excited because that’s my career baby. I started to believe in him, So I against my family for some time if they don’t allow me to go as I said acting in my life. At one point, we realise that we need a step to another stage which feature film. I used all my contacts to search producers. Finally we got a producer & narrate a story to him, he saw our previous job. So he supported us. I felt so special and so excited. I was in the work with full of the feature film’s screenwriting works and pre-production by meeting actors and fixing locations. There is where I started to comeback to house at 4am which leads a heart attack to my mother. Still I cannot visit my mother in hospital due to some appointment and the director slowly doesn’t care about the project and become arrogant. So I use to walk like 15km per day to meet others and use a lot of public transport and at night I keep writing. So there is no time to sleep but still I dint give up. Some time, I had to bunk my class. After two month of survival, I finished the whole script, which I was so happy that I believe it’s my life’s first turning point. I got a call from my director, he wanted to meet me. I went to see him with the documents and full of excitement. He was sad that he broke up with his girl-friend and I felt pity for him and there is where he said that he wanted to drop the project. I was literally broke that the project was dropped by him. There is no value for my effort. I thought that the film project will be the answer of my scarification. I cannot bare it, so I immediately went out from there and walked to my house which Taman Sentosa to Bandar Parklands while crying. I came home and I was controlling my tears but my mother found out that something is wrong with me. I kept asking the same question which is what happen to you, there is where I burst out my tears till I scream louder. For few days I was depressed. Slowly I saw a video that there is an acting course which is held by a famous Stage Drama Production when I was 20 years old. That was another step of mine to go towards my passion. Apart from that, there is when I joined college. New environment gave me a good vibes. So from that acting courses, I got a lot of contacts and I was happy about it. I understand the physiological factor of acting. After few days, I met Yuvaraj Krishnasamy and Yogeswari which I don’t know in the moment that they going to be my most important people in my life.

I acted a lot of stage play and my most favourite stage play was 24 hours stage drama. The concept was like we need to do a performance like a flash mob which we need to act with the audience. So we did an event for Valentine’s Day. I was the Emcee for that night which is actually cue master for the event and most interesting part the audience doesn’t know that our actor was sitting among them. For each and every 5 minutes, there would like some interesting scenario such as love, fights, argument & sadness. The best part is we prepared for the sweatshop within 24 hours. In that event, Yuvaraj and I had a scenario which was comical. Our chemistry turned out very well. From that moment, I became so close with Yuvaraj. After his few performance, I became his big fan. There was a part where we need to come out with a 15 minutes of sketch which was boy joined college and changed his whole life due to culture shocked.

I was so into with the storyline, and I acted as 3 role which was father of the boy, bully and best friend of him. My coach loved the way I bring out each and every character. So he praised me a lot which actually creates some haters. A group of people avoided me from that incident but my full concentration with the story line. There is where another stage drama came which is called Thanimaram Thopaagathu. First I was the main character for the stage drama then some influence from the group which I got avoided, I was removed from the main character and became one of the extra in the same stage play. For some rehearsal slot, some actor would not attend. So I make use of it by playing the other’s character such as encouraging father, strict father, main character, fear student and my own character which is one of the student which will appear for 1 minutes in whole 30 minutes. So what I do, I was creating some dialogue just to dragged my portion which was accepted by our special guest coach who is my favourite actor. Then we had a conversation, he shared that he heard that Im not a good actor but I totally changed the whole perception of him.

From that moment, I get to know politics of acting industry. So I concentrate on the 15 minutes sketch’s story line and was developing to do it as a short film. While developing, I realised that I need some sponsor, so I asked from our stage director. He promised me that, he will give it after stage drama. But that wasn’t happen. After the stage drama, He asked most of the people in the restaurant to join the conversation and threw the script of my short film in front of everyone by telling that I’m burden to this Malaysian Tamil Film Industry. People like me are the one who is ruining other’s hardwork. I was just stunt and embarrassed in front of the group that I got avoided. They were taking video of me getting embarrassed by him. From that incident, I realised that I just proof it to him by let the whole group including the director watch my short film and make them stunt.

Production side I was searching for a lot of people, nobody was there except my parents. So they were willing to produce me. My elder Kanchavilosyen wanted to be the director of my short film script. To play another main role actor, I asked Yuvaraj to play the character and for the sister role I want Yogeswari to play. Yuvaraj brother helped me a lot in fact, at one point he wanted to direct that short film. Meanwhile having a discussing with the current DOP he wasn’t compromising with our wish and there were some argument. So he back off from our project but he didn’t return our advance payment. There is where Deepak Fain came into our project. Deepak Fain is the most talented director, cinematographer, editor and vfx designer from India. So I was so nervous that, will he accept the script and accept me as an actor. But he does believe in me. After few days, my friend said he can’t make it to do a role which is a supporting role. There is where Arun Kumar roped in and he was so comfortable. Throughout our whole rehearsal and pre-production it took 3 months and I realising I’m not building a team, I’m coming up with a family and we titled our project as KATRU MARA which means forget what you have learn.

While production, there is where I felt myself as actor and sudden plan that my father has to act as an actor which is a role of my father. That was a good opportunity to make my parents realised that what is acting about. He was happy and proud of me. 5th day of shooting, which is climax there is a time-lapse shot which we need to consume some alcohol and the location was my house. I felt really bad but I can say if I want to but I dint. Because as an actor you should do what the director wants. Not to satisfy them, is to beautify and make your character live. So I did it in front of my family which gives them a big shock. After two days sleepless shooting, we finished the climax shooting. We face a big wrap. Our project took nearly 1 year of post-production with a full effort of Deepak Fain and SS bharanidharan who is our music director of our movie.

Meanwhile I acted as an extra in a Short Feature Film, which is called Venpa as Police, and acted in a Promo video for Acting Workshop which was held by the director of Venpa alone with Yuvaraj. This makes me to build some contact and create some identification.Apart from that, Yuvaraj, Arun Kumar, Arun Kumaran (who voiced as Rajinikanth for Kabali Malay Version), Praveen & I did an amazing stage performance concept of comedy sketches of Bollywood Nite in 2016 by Legacy Network Worldwide. In the comedy sketch I play as mother. The concept was about a director got producer to director a serial. So he is having an audition for 4 actors who just follow the command together. That performance gets a great response from audience.

After the post Production, we planned to do a screening for our film. But due to lack of time and preparation. We just planned to release Katru Mara in FB. Vadai Production released our project. Unexpectedly we got tremendous response from audience which we get 500k views, 3k likes & 2.5k shares within 5 days. This movie gives me a good image in the society and recognition. I believes the whole experiences of the movie will just right back hit at the right time in film industry. I acted in a scene of feature film which was directed by SD Puvanendran who taught me what film is about. Got a lot of calls from the director who cheated, the group who avoided me and others by telling their so proud of me, I have acted very well, and so on. But what makes me think is the smile of my mother when I was doing the first performance was still there for me. This is not the end, this is not the beginning of the end neither, this end of the beginning.